Aubrey Plaza is among the newly added actors in ‘Mortdecai,’ which has shifted production from London to L.A.
Action-crime-comedy film Mortdecai has been busy shooting in London with key cast members Johnny Depp, Ewan McGregor, Gwyneth Paltrow, Olivia Munn, and Paul Bettany, but the internationally-flavored flick with a premise that comes across one part National Treasure, one part Ocean’s 11, and one part Bond film is now headed to Los Angeles for continued production, and with the move comes the addition of several new supporting cast members. Aubrey Plaza (Parks & Rec), Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park, Independence Day), and Oliver Platt (Frost/Nixon, The Big C) have all joined the production in unspecified roles.
Although he stands behind the scripts of hits such as Jurassic Park, Carlito’s Way, and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, the only occasional director (his only role on Mortdecai) David Koepp is looking to put some recent misfires behind him (2012’s Premium Rush, which he wrote and directed, and the scripts for Angels & Demons and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull spring to mind). The additions of Plaza, Goldblum, and Platt would seem to do nothing but help in that regard, particularly when coupled with Depp’s lead – Koepp directed him in The Secret Window.
Plaza is best known for her role in Parks & Rec but has been making a number of successful forays into feature films, namely the dramedy Safety Not Guaranteed and last year’s sex comedy The To-Do List. She’s also figures prominently into the indie zombie comedy Life After Beth, which
is currently seeking distribution and will be playing at Sundance later this month. Goldblum and Platt, meanwhile, are well-established character actors whom one assumes would shine playing against Depp’s lead.
Mortdecai does not yet have a firm release date, but project is backed by Lionsgate and could well see wide release by the end of the year.
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